Celebrating Failure

1) Over the summer, some friends and I have engaged in creating an online startup company centered around health and recovery products. This business is separate from the one that I have been planning throughout the duration of this course (which is a business centered around providing protective headgear equipment for roofers). There are currently six total members within our team, and I have been delegated the financial tasks and responsibilities of the company. After filing an LLC to be recognized as an official business within the state of Florida, I was assigned the responsibility of applying for a corporate bank account. Since our business functions online as an eCommerce store, I had sought out an online banking institution. After collecting all of our relevant information, I diligently filled out the banking application online (with the assumption that it would be processed and accepted rather immediately). Much to my dismay, seconds after receiving an email verifying that I successfully submitted my application, I received another email stating that my application could not be further reviewed. I was utterly distraught and did not know the reason for the rejection. After doing some research, I learned that some common reasons for why an online bank would immediately deny your application include the following: lack of credit history, a complex business structure, or troublesome banking history. However, none of those applied to my situation. When I tried to receive further clarification, the banking institution would not specify the reasons for why my application got denied and referred me to the screening agency (ChexSystems) that was used during the review process. ChexSystems, however, had an automated phone system that would not allow me to communicate with a live person and the only way to send mail was via physical mail at the post office---they had no email for communication purposes. Needless to say, I was utterly frustrated and confused with the entire process. 

2) After my disappointing experience with the online bank's customer service, I found myself reading a bunch of reddit threads in an attempt to self-diagnose what the problem exactly was. Ultimately, I decided that a traditional brick-and-mortar banking institution would be a lot more helpful in opening a corporate bank account. A few days later, I went to a traditional bank and worked with an associate to fill out an application. I explained to her all my grievances and told her about the complications I faced when attempting to use an online bank. She was able to provide a lot more clarity and answered all the questions I had. When it was time to fill out the application at the brick-and-mortar bank, I was also more prepared and had all the necessary paperwork and information with me. This caught the banking associate by surprise because she said that most of her clients have little to almost no knowledge of how to properly fill out an application. Her remark made me realize that my initial failure in opening a bank account allowed me to be much more prepared and ready for the second go-round. The second attempt felt a lot more seamless and smooth. Thus, based on my first experience, I learned that failure can allow you to be more prepared for the next opportunity or chance you receive (so long as you allow yourself to learn from that failure). 

3) Failure can be super frustrating, complex, and unexpected. It can cause immense stress and disappointment, but it is not useless. If you can take your failure as a learning experience and find ways to adapt, failure can actually be a purposeful tactic in allowing you to be successful. When I am faced with failure, I become very determined to understand why I failed. I seek for reasons and clarity so that I do not repeat the same mistakes in the future. Taking ENT3003 has also reiterated my perspective on failure based on the different assignments we were assigned throughout the year. By completing multiple iterations of the same assignment, I was forced to re-evaluate my decisions and understand why certain things did not work out the way I had expected. Thus, via trial and error, this class has equipped me with the understanding that failure is an uncomfortable, but necessary, part of the process. Since the only way to fail sometimes is by taking chances and leaps of faith, I am definitely more likely to take a risk than I was a few months ago.